Image credit: Capcom
Resident Evil Requiem makes a dark and foreboding return to the iconic Raccoon City, with veteran zombie-stabber Leon Kennedy and newcomer Grace Ashcroft acting as dual protagonists.
Despite the multiple perspectives and consistent switching between playstyles, Resident Evil Requiem feels smooth in its pacing and consistently unnerving. Here’s Kyusai’s full, spoiler-free Resident Evil Requiem review.
Two hellish paths
Resident Evil Requiem tells two interweaving stories. Grace Ashcroft is investigating the death of her mother, Alyssa Ashcroft – yes, that Alyssa Ashcroft from Resident Evil Outbreak – while Leon Kennedy, still a DSO agent, is looking into a string of mysteriously gory Midwestern deaths.
Both characters end up crossing paths during the adventure, with something malicious hanging over Leon as he tries to help Grace survive her first battles against hordes of the undead. The player frequently shifts perspectives between the two characters, yet the story flows smoothly, with smart transitions between the two play styles.
Leon is still as quippy and flashy as ever, stomping zombie skulls into pools of viscera with ease, and dropping one-liners while taking a shot at chainsaw-wielding fiends.
Grace, on the other hand, is much less combat-seasoned than her silver-haired counterpart – but this added greatly to her segments in the game. Leon’s Requiem sections are akin to bloody action horror (think RE4), but Grace’s feel like they pay homage to classic survival horror, making me think of the original Resident Evil games in places.
While a lack of experience isn’t necessarily always a good thing in the case of a horror protagonist, I found that it made Grace’s gameplay sections feel much more tense, feeling vulnerable like we did in RE7 while exploring the Baker family compound.
She’ll fumble a little with a weapon or stumble while running from an enemy; it adds a sense of realism, making chase scenes all the more harrowing. Her knowledge and skills come through in the new, blood-based crafting system, too.
That’s not to say that Grace’s character fell flat, either. As a long-time Resident Evil geek, I was admittedly delighted to see Leon Kennedy back in the game, but I did feel concerned that he might overshadow the new protagonist a little.
Thankfully, I was wrong. Leon is great as ever, with a darker, more intense edge to him, but Grace goes through somewhat of a transformation during Requiem. I won’t spoil what she encounters exactly, of course, but based on my playthrough, she ended up feeling a lot stronger and more sure of herself, which was satisfying to see.
Vicious combat with unique enemies
I’ve always found a key emotion or two at the heart of Resident Evil games during my time with them. Some of them are characterized by rage or anger, while others are fuelled by despair; these are visible in enemy attacks, key narrative scenes, and boss designs.
The emotion that resonated the strongest with Requiem was a deep and profound sadness, seen most clearly in heavy, panic-laden flashback sequences and the bitterly soulful designs of the new zombies.
The new style of enemies in Requiem have a sense of genuine sadness to them, etched across tear-strewn faces. Some of them appear to be crying out as they attack you, while others mimic their behaviours from their human lives, seemingly in a subconscious attempt to retain a small part of themselves.
Something that I found particularly unnerving was that the enemies in Requiem are noticeably more vocal than their predecessors. Hearing one call out in a dark hallway was nauseatingly scary and brilliant, all at the same time.
Splattered in between the sadness, there’s plenty of tasty gore and intense boss fights, though, don’t worry. Combat felt particularly wicked in Requiem, with responsive melee attacks and smooth, intuitive controls, and there were some incredibly fun boss fights with unique arena designs.
I particularly enjoyed the combat sections with Leon; there’s a scene very early on which feels like a desperate scramble for survival, amidst blinding headlights and torrential rain, with zombies popping up from all sides. It tested my aiming skills – spoiler alert, they’re not great – and made me rely on melee attacks and hatchets.
Resident Evil Requiem was continuously beautiful, despite the goriness and intensity, with a clearly thought-out artistic style and some truly unnerving boss designs. It may even rival the prettier games in the series, like Resident Evil Village and the remakes.
Performance-wise, I found Requiem to be smooth and responsive, with no notable glitches or problems to report. I completed this review on a PlayStation 5 and found the interface to be intuitive, with controls that were simple to get the hang of.
If you’re a long-time Resident Evil fan, there’s a lot to get excited about here. The game includes callbacks to previous games, both in style and substance, but it also feels fresh and unique as well. It was genuinely harrowing in places, but had fast-paced, bloody action sequences to counterbalance the horror nicely.
FAQs
The Resident Evil Requiem release date is February 27, 2026.
Resident Evil Requiem’s protagonists are Grace Ashcroft and Leon Kennedy.
Yes, Resident Evil Requiem is scary in places, with some gruelling survival horror sequences.
Yes, Grace’s sections of Resident Evil Requiem are survival horror. Leon’s are more action horror – or even just pure action in some places.
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